Chapter 1

I rested a hand on my now flat stomach and whispered, "I'm sorry, baby."

A bitter smile tugged at my lips as tears streamed down, burning and relentless. There had once been a life inside me.

…

My husband, Rowan Caldwell, had abandoned me for Veronica Whitmore. He had left me alone on the highway in the pouring rain, heedless of my safety or that of our unborn child.

So, I unlocked my phone and sent Rowan a message. I wanted a divorce.

He usually took a full day to reply, but this time, my phone rang almost instantly.

"Emilia Reynolds! Why are you getting jealous over nothing?" Rowan snapped. "Just because I didn't go with you to your prenatal checkup? Do you have to make up a lie like this? What kind of mother curses her own child?"

He continued, "I already told you—Veronica is my patient. She has depression! I'm only looking out for her.

"And you even let Adeline drag this all to Elliot? Veronica is our patient and nothing else! If your jealousy drives her to harm herself and she dies, that would make you a murderer! Do you understand?"

After saying that, he hung up.

The dial tone buzzed in my ear, and my breath hitched. Veronica was Rowan's patient, and yet, wasn't I his wife?

I could live with the way he fussed over her every day. But the day before, he knew my stomach was hurting.

I was carrying his child. Still, he left me alone on the highway, drenched in the pouring rain.

And it was all because Veronica had said, "Ro, I cut myself while slicing fruit today. Do you think I'm useless? Maybe I shouldn't even exist."

At those words, he immediately turned the car around to go back to her.

I had tried desperately to stop him. I wasn't afraid of getting soaked, but I was terrified that something would happen to my baby.

Tears streamed down my face as I begged Rowan. Yet, he dragged me out of the car anyway. He then tossed me an umbrella and drove off, leaving me soaked in the rain.

With nowhere else to turn, I called my best friend, Adeline Miller.

When she heard what had happened, she seethed with fury, cursing nonstop and ready to text Rowan to give him a piece of her mind.